Just because the temperature drops doesn’t mean that your adventure level has to follow. Sure, there’s skiing. There are also many more activities to keep your heart pumping in and around the New River Gorge throughout the colder months.
Bald Eagle Sighting
A large American sycamore tree in the southern part of New River Gorge National River has been the home to a nesting pair of bald eagles for three straight winters since 2009–10. Check to see if they’re back this year: February is the time to start looking for them. Once the eggs are laid, the pair take turns sitting and hunting for more than a month. (Sandstone Visitor Center, 304-466-0417)
Tour a Cave
Forget heading south for warmer weather; the 52-degree temperature of this cave offers a break from the colder climate above. Cool stalactites and stalagmites 120 feet below the Earth’s surface, including a 30-ton stalactite, one of the U.S.’s largest, plus a dinosaur museum. (Lewisburg, WV: Lost World Caverns, 866-228-3778)
Generate Your Own Heat
If you strive to make your body and mind more flexible, focused and relaxed, you can’t do better than yoga. It’s perfect for the cold weather months, too. The studio in downtown Fayetteville offers classes for students of all levels ranging from Zen meditation to power yoga. (Kula Yoga Studio, 304-207-2988)
Watch Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure
Although the crew of 28 men on Sir Francis Shackleton’s 1914-1916 expedition never achieved their goal of crossing Antarctica, they did survive nearly two years in the barren, frigid Antarctic when their ship was caught in a pack of ice and eventually crushed. (Charleston, WV: Clay Center, 304-561-3570)
Winter in the Canopy
A zipline canopy tour when the leaves are off the trees gives a great sense of the land contours and easier sightings of fox and other winter critters. If you’re lucky enough to go just after a fresh fallen snow, the experience is (nearly) silent and beautifully surreal. (Adventures on the Gorge, 888-650-1932)
Go on an Icicle Hike
Do we need to tell you to exercise caution when standing below giant icicles? The New River Gorge area is a wet climate, which means plenty of big, beautiful icicles to admire in wintery weather. Walking directly underneath them is hazardous to your health. Admiring them from afar is recommended. The Ansted-Hawks Nest Rail Trail (Hawks Nest State Park, 304-658-5212) is a good bet to view them, as is the Kaymoor Trail.
Photo courtesy of www.forestwander.com
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